The three fundamental steps of a high speed industrial candy forming process include, in sequence; 1) introducing a batch of candy mass into a candy forming machine and rolling the candy mass, 2) shaping and sizing the candy mass into a candy rope, and 3) cutting and forming the candy rope into candy pieces. These three steps are respectively accomplished by machine components known as the batch roller, rope sizer and candy former.
It is well known in the art that the most difficult task in a commercial candy formation process is achieving uniformly sized candy pieces. The size of each candy piece produced by the candy former is directly dependent on the outer diameter of the respective segment of the candy rope from which the candy piece is cut. For example, a candy piece cut from a segment of the candy rope having a large diameter results in a large sized candy piece and a candy piece cut from a segment of the candy rope having a small diameter results in a small sized candy piece. Therefore, to achieve uniformly sized candy pieces, the diameter of the candy rope from which the candy pieces are cut must be uniform throughout the cutting process.
Manufacturing a candy rope with a uniform outer diameter is often difficult. Even more difficult is maintaining a uniform candy rope diameter when candy is formed with an outside layer of one type of candy and a center of a second type of candy. The second type of candy can be a liquid center, soft candy center, or hard candy center of a second flavor. In order to ensure that each candy piece has the same size and thickness of candy layers, the inner and outer diameter of the candy rope must be maintained uniform throughout the cutting process. This is accomplished, with respect to a candy forming machine, by synchronizing both the speed of the rope sizer and the speed of the candy former together with the rate at which candy is introduced into the batch roller.
As mentioned above, the size of each candy piece produced by the candy former is directly dependent on the outer diameter of the candy rope flowing from the rope sizer to the candy former. Furthermore, the diameter of the candy rope formed by the rope sizer is dependent in part on the force applied to the candy mass as it leaves the batch roller and enters the rope sizer. The force applied to the candy mass as it enters the rope sizer is established by the amount of candy mass in the batch roller and the angle at which the batch roller is set.
Presently, uniformity in the size of candy pieces in a candy forming process is accomplished by adjusting the angle of the batch roller in a candy forming machine. This is done either manually or automatically. For example, as the degree angle of the batch roller is increased, the gravitational force applied to the candy mass is increased resulting in a greater amount of candy mass flowing from the batch roller to the rope sizer. Consequently, a larger rope diameter is established resulting in larger sized candy pieces being produced in the candy former. This method of making uniformly sized candy pieces presents a critical problem since candy is not always introduced into the batch roller at a constant rate.
One method of achieving uniformity in rope diameter size is by adjusting the batch roller angle to correspond to a change in the amount of candy mass in the batch roller. However, continuously maintaining an effective batch roller angle in response to a change in the amount of candy mass in the batch roller is often difficult. Accordingly, an ineffectively low degree batch roller angle setting results in a small diameter candy rope and thus small sized candy pieces. Alternatively, an excessively high degree batch roller angle setting results in a large candy rope diameter and thus large sized candy pieces. Therefore, the candy pieces lack uniformity in size when the batch roller angle is not properly set to produce a uniformly sized diameter candy rope.
In the past, manufactures of candy forming machines have attempted to account for changes in candy rope diameter resulting from an ineffective batch roller angle by adjusting the speed of the rope sizer accordingly. For example, the speed of the rope sizer is decreased when the candy rope diameter becomes too small. However, when the speed of the rope sizer is manually decreased while the speed of the candy former remains unchanged, a stretching of the candy rope occurs between the rope sizer and the candy former. This stretching of the candy rope results in an uneven candy rope diameter. Additionally, if the speed of the rope sizer is decreased excessively, an overflow of candy mass occurs between the batch roller and rope sizer resulting in a large candy rope diameter. Consequently, adjusting the speed of the rope sizer to account for an ineffective batch roller angle often results in an uneven candy rope diameter which in turn creates unevenly sized candy pieces.
In light of the above, it is an object of the present invention to ensure the manufacture of uniformly sized candy pieces by making a candy rope with a uniform diameter throughout its length. It is another object of the present invention to provide a speed control device for automatically synchronizing both the speed of the rope sizer and the speed of the candy former together with the rate at which candy is introduced into the batch roller. It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a speed control device for a candy forming machine which allows for a constant batch roller angle setting and thus eliminates the need for manual or automatic adjustment of the batch roller angle.